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Good morning, Woj! Wasn't expecting you. What did you bring us today?
After some initial uncertainty, the New York Knicks plan to pick up the third-year contract option for guard Shane Larkin, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The Knicks have been satisfied with Larkin, 22, in the preseason, and will guarantee the $1.67 million on his contract for the 2015-16 season.
The deadline for guaranteeing the third-year option comes at the end of October.
Fair enough! I haven't been thrilled with Larkin's play in preseason, but that doesn't really mean much. He's 22 and holds some promise at a position of need, and the Knicks decided that was worth biting off a $1.67 million-sized chunk of their 2015 cap space instead of letting Larkin become a free agent at season's end.
They will, I imagine, do the same thing for Tim Hardaway Jr.'s third-year option (right? If Shane's worth it...), which is actually a couple hundred thousand dollars less than Larkin's because he was a later pick. This could be a case where the Knicks plan to announce both pick-ups at once but Woj just happens to have a scoop on one of them.
These little commitments do add up, but Hardaway and Larkin are the only sophomores on the Knicks who present such a decision right now. At season's end, a whole slew of similar choices emerge. A SLEW.
Anyway, hi Shane! Make yourself comfortable.